In practicing conservation I have always left accession numbers intact on
objects and artifacts, even if there were multiple ones. The rationale is that
they are part of the direct history and provenance of the object and that
evidence should be preserved unless there is some compelling reason to remove them.

For instance, I sometimes see accession numbers on objects and artifacts that
are brought to me by private collectors. If the objects had been looted or
stolen at some point in time - even 50 years ago - then removing that number
could definitely make one an accessory after the fact to that occurrence, or
contribute to fraud if the object were later sold and it's provenance
misrepresented.

So it has always been my preference to leave the evidence of where an object
has been on the object as that may be the sole source of that information in
years to come.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Artifacts
2930 South Birch Street
Denver, CO 80222
303-300-5257
[log in to unmask]

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).